1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for monitoring the reporting of misfirings in an internal combustion engine by combining a plurality of submethods through a weighted combination of such methods, to increase the reliability with which misfiring is detected.
Misfiring in the operation of an internal combustion engine must be detected to make it possible to counteract the attendant increased pollutant emissions and to protect the catalyst against overheating.
A number of methods are already known for detecting misfiring.
Those methods have varying reliability, particularly as a function of the current or present operating point of the engine, so that if only one method is exclusively used, reliable misfiring detection is not assured in all operating ranges.
German Published, Non-Prosecuted Application DE 40 35 957 A1 describes a way in which a method for evaluating engine roughness is therefore combined with a method for monitoring ignition.
Published International Application WO 92/11522 describes a diagnostic unit for detecting misfiring, in which from among various methods for detecting misfiring, one or more methods are selected in accordance with the operating range of the engine, with the methods selected being suitable for detecting a misfire in that range.